Religion News: Activists barred from Jerusalem during Pope’s visit

Comment

Journal Star

Writer

Posted May. 22, 2014 at 12:52 PM
Updated May 22, 2014 at 12:52 PM

Posted May. 22, 2014 at 12:52 PM

Week in Religion

Israeli police issued restraining orders to several right-wing activists, banning them from entering parts of Jerusalem during Pope Francis’s visit to the region this week. The actions were taken after an Israeli security service received reports of plans to commit “provocative acts” during the papal visit.

Pope Francis is due to arrive in Israel on Sunday, and will tour Christian sites in Jerusalem, as well as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Recently, right-wing extremists have carried out a series of graffiti attacks on Christian sites in Israel, including one earlier this month in which the phrases “Jesus is garbage” and “King David for the Jews” were spray-painted on the walls of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.

Francis is scheduled to conclude his visit to the Holy Land by celebrating Mass in the Cenacle, which is traditionally considered the site where Jesus and disciples shared the Last Supper.

Good Book?

“You Are Loved: Embracing the Everlasting Love God has for You,” by Sally Clarkson and Angela Perritt

Discovering that you can be loved completely by the One who knows you best is life-changing. The authors reveal many ways God has worked intimately in their lives to help them understand and know they are loved with an everlasting love that only God can give. Through their personal and sometimes painful stories, they invite you into their lives to witness the healing and restoration that can occur when a woman realizes she is completely loved.

— Amazon

The Word

Agnus Dei: The “Lamb of God” prayer said three times at Catholic Mass during the breaking of bread. It is also a sacramental tablet of wax stamped with a representation of Jesus as a lamb bearing a cross.

— ReligionStylebook.com

Religion Around the World

According to the CIA World Factbook, the religious makeup of Israel is: